Grundy Reporter

State Rep. Jed Davis (R-Newark) is speaking out against the Illinois High School Association’s (IHSA) refusal to revise its policy allowing biological males identifying as transgender to compete in female sports.

“The IHSA’s response confirms what many feared — they’re more concerned with political appeasement than protecting fairness in girls’ sports,” Davis told the Grundy Reporter.

The IHSA’s decision came in response to a March letter from 40 Republican House members — including Davis — seeking clarification on whether the IHSA would comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order banning males from participating in female sports. 

Trump’s Feb. 5 executive order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” directs the U.S. Department of Education to enforce Title IX protections based on biological sex and threatens to withhold federal funding from schools and associations that fail to comply.

The IHSA announced it would not alter its current policy, which allows transgender athletes to compete according to their gender identity, citing obligations under the Illinois Human Rights Act. 

“The Illinois Human Rights Act requires that transgender athletes be permitted to participate in events and programs aligning with the gender with which they identify,” the IHSA’s letter reads. “As a result of the foregoing, compliance with the Executive Order could place the ISA out of compliance with the Illinois Human Rights Act and vice versa.”

The association also emphasized that it receives no state or federal funding, rendering the executive order’s financial penalties ineffective. IHSA administrators have not responded to the Grundy Reporter’s requests to clarify their position.  

Davis criticized the IHSA for what he sees as an unwillingness to stand up for female athletes.

“Their letter admits the policy is ‘untenable,’ yet instead of standing up for biological reality, they’re hiding behind legal confusion,” he said. “Let me be clear: Illinois law should never be used to force our daughters to compete against biological males.”

The issue has garnered national attention amid federal civil rights investigations for alleged Title IX violations by the Illinois Department of Education, Chicago Public Schools District 299 and Deerfield Public Schools District 109, where female students at Deerfield Middle School were forced to undress in front of a biological male in the girls’ locker room.

Davis said he will continue to push for policy changes that protect girls’ sports.

“I’ll keep fighting to restore common sense in Springfield — and it starts by ensuring girls’ sports remain for girls,” he said.

Davis represents House District 75 which includes Plano, Yorkville, Morris and Minooka.